For teams in talent attraction this often means a re-evaluation of what worked in 2015, and brain storming what could help in 2016. We would like to share some ideas “from the candidates’ mouths” which may help you and your organization attract (and ultimately retain) better talent.

Many of our executive candidates talk to us about their passive or active job searches and the impact the Employer Brand has on their excitement about a position. We all know that Employer Brand is the “image of your organization as a great place to work”, in the mind of your current employees and key stakeholders in the external market.

However, what many of our clients do not consider is how this brand and the increasingly anonymous voice of both your current and ex-employee base, is now, more than ever, public domain and largely both unmonitored and uncontrolled.

Sites such as Glassdoor capture and publish not only compensation details, but very real snapshots of what employees feel, or in many cases FELT, about working at your company. As is often the case, those employees who are least satisfied or engaged can be the most likely to post opinions, often negative ones.

In talent management, we must increasingly acknowledge that part of our role is to manage the perceptions derived from on-line forums and networking groups. If the opinions being expressed are real, we must be brave enough to acknowledge and address them, this is and will increasingly hurt your ability to grow as the talent war deepens. We all need to address the reality of the employment experience and not just the presentation thereof.

However, if they do not truly reflect how great your company is, then develop a proactive strategy to offset impact, such as: cultivating positive postings, making sure employee experience appears front and center on your website, making your job postings compelling and attractive, and publicizing your positive employee initiatives.

In some cases, the engagement of a professional search firm can help you in market candidate perception hugely: a positive presentation of the company, the opportunity, and the impact the executive will have upon the company (often told to hundreds of prospective candidates) can go a long way to enhancing your Employer Brand.

Let’s work together to create and present an Employee Brand as positive as possible and make prospective candidates truly excited about coming on board!